Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/001a/pdl31.zip/PDL.DOC

Text File | 1991-10-13 | 21KB | 532 lines

        Prodigy DownLoad (PDL, pronounced "piddle")
          Copyright 1990-1991 by FlexSoft

                INTRODUCTION
             ------------------

Timely access to current market information is a crucial requirement for
the successful technical investor.  This valuable information is
available from many sources and is accompanied by an equal number of
access fees and connect charges.  One of the most reliable and
economical sources of this data, although often overlooked, is the
Prodigy(R) service, a joint venture of IBM(R) and Sears(R).

Initially, Prodigy made market information available to subscribers as
graphics screen data only and provided no facility to the user for
recording or capturing the information.  In time though, this facility
was improved to include a print function.  This allowed recording of
data but was not a practical method for collecting large amounts of data
and was only moderately useful in maintaining historical stock market
data files.  Since then Prodigy has added the ability to save quote data
to a file but this method is still very time consuming for collecting
large amounts of data.

As the Prodigy service began to stabilize the data formats, some users
began to adopt methods of electronic data collection by employing print
capture programs such as LPTx701, available on a variety of bulletin
boards and services.  Further enhancements added automated keyboard
macros to assist in requesting the quote information.  These programs
began to bring the value of the Prodigy service as a daily stock quote
update service into focus.

The obvious next step was to further automate and refine the process to
make data collection as painless as possible.  PDL or "piddle" as it is
referred to by the authors, is that next step.

Although the general purpose programs for keyboard simulation and
print file capture are still viable alternatives, PDL was designed
specifically for the purpose of downloading and recording stock, bond,
mutual fund and market indicator information from the Prodigy service.
The techniques employed in the PDL software take full advantage of the
DOS platform and focus on collecting the market data that you need.  The
limitations placed on the number of quotes that can be retrieved in one
session (up to 1000) far exceeds the practical limits of other methods.

Another advantage of PDL is the ability to use different quote request
files for each session without having to make changes to your QUOTE
TRACK lists.  This provides access to a limitless number of quotes by
combining the stock symbols of your choice in one of an infinite number
of quote lists.  Users of TAS, a technical analysis program which is
growing in popularity, will find it easy to generate "TAS scripts" to
automatically generate "ticker" lists.  These lists can be generated to
be used as direct input to the PDL program.

Perhaps the most important point of all is that the authors themselves
uses PDL daily to maintain databases in excess of 500 symbols.    What
this means to the user is that changes in the Prodigy service that
require programming changes will get immediate attention and these
changes will be made available to licensed customers of PDL as quickly
as the code can be developed and tested.  Also, as the authors add
enhancements for their own use, these enhancements too will become part
of the product.

WHAT DOES IT DO?
----------------

The basic function of PDL is to download stock, bond, mutual fund and
market index data.  It gets this data from the Prodigy service's QUOTE
CHECK function using a user generated quote request file (often referred
to as the PDL.IN file) and places the ASCII formatted text in a user
defined output file (referred to as the PDL.OUT file).    Currently, PDL
will accept requests for specific "ticker" symbols from the STOCK, BOND
and FUND screens of QUOTE CHECK.  The setup procedures and a sample file
are included later in this document.

A second feature of PDL is the ability to collect the information from
the MARKET CLOSE function of Prodigy.  The screens that are captured
provide direct access to a large number of indicators and indirect
access to some additional derrived indicators.    An example of a directly
accessed indicator is the DJ-30, the closing price of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average.  A derrived indicator might be the cumulative
difference of the new highs minus the new lows.  The PDL user can access
the direct indicators using editors, spreadsheets or various other
software products.  The derrived indicators require the use of PML since
they are calculated from the direct information.  One of the
shortcomings of the Prodigy indicators is that only the close values for
the indicators are recorded.  If you absolutely need high & low values
for the DJ-30, NYSE etc., you will have to collect the individual stock
data and calculate it yourself.


SUPPORT
------------

PDL was written as a companion program to Prodigy Metastock Load (PML)
which is designed to load and update Metastock Professional data files
from a variety of sources using a variety of input formats.  Although
PML is a companion program, it is not required to get full use of PDL
but rather uses the PDL output as an update source. PDL ASCII formatted
files are recorded in a format that is usable by most spreadsheet and
database programs that employ format descriptors.  Of course the data
can also be accessed and edited using a standard ASCII text editor such
as EDLIN.

Each of these programs (PDL & PML) requires registration to receive
full technical support although users are encouraged to redistribute
copies of the entire package for demonstration purposes.  Both
programs are distributed and run in a trial, or limited demonstration
mode.    PDL provides a limited use (20 quotes per session) demo.
During the trial period, the authors will attempt to answer questions
about software install and configuration.

As a registered user, you will be have access to enhancements to the
products as they become available and also be entitled to any available
technical fixes to the version for which you are licensed.  This
includes changes required to accommodate new formats in the Prodigy
service data, and assumes that the required data is still available.

You can register any FlexSoft Product(s) online by calling the
FlexSoft BBS at 510-829-2293 and answering Questionaire #3
(VISA/MasterCard Only) In addition, you can send your name, address,
VISA/Mastercard # and expiration date to JBMD65A to register PDL
immediately.

If you wish to register by check, print the the REGISTER.DOC file, fill it
out, and send it to the address given on the form.


   Problems can be reported:
       on Prodigy ID   - CBGB69A    Rick Woodcock

              HOW TO USE PDL
              -----------------------


PREPARING YOUR QUOTE LIST
----------------------------

PDL requires the use of a standard text editor and a few minutes of your
time to set up the list of symbols that you wish to download.  This list
is stored in a file referred to as the PDL.IN file.  The actual name of
the file can be any legal DOS filename, but the default name is PDL.IN.
The list contains one line for each Stock, Fund or Bond quote that you
want to download.  Each line contains an indicator specifying the "type"
of quote (Stock, Bond, Fund or indeX) and the symbol.  The "type"
indicator is defined as:

       "S"     - stock symbol
       "F"     - fund symbol
       "B"     - bond symbol
       "X"     - market close page or special indicator

For example, to get a quote for Apple Computer (AAPL), a stock, you
would type in the line:

       S AAPL

And for JANUS FUND (JANSX), a fund, you would type in:

       F JANSX

Similarly, for a bond, you would precede the symbol with a "B".

To get the Market Close page containing the AMEX closing information you
would type in:

       X AMEX


The available Market Close page names are:
  X AMEX    American Exchange Summary
  X NYSE    New Your Exchange Summary
  X US        US Stocks Summary
  X KEY     Key Rates and Bonds
  X NASDA    NASDAQ Closing Summary
  X CLOSI    Closing Futures Prices
  X FOREI    Foreign Exchange Currencies

Normally you will want to include all of these in your quote list.

Switching between "B", "S" and "F" types cause mode switches within
Prodigy that take time.  You can obtain the best performance by
grouping all symbols of each type together so that all stocks are
requested sequentially, followed by all fund requests, followed by
all bond requests.  PDL will not get confused if you mix up the types
but the time that it takes to download can be greatly extended.



X QRQ30 Symbol
--------------

QRQ30 is a special symbol that allows a fast download of 30 stock
symbols using the Quote Track lists.  To use this symbol you must first
set up the quote requests in Quote Track list #1 and #2.  Next you
should add the symbol X QRQ30 to your PDL.IN file.  Although placement
is not critical the X QRQ30 symbol should be the first X symbol
specified for best program efficiency. One excellent use of this feature
is to place the Dow 30 stocks in the list since these stocks do not
change frequently.

PDL will collect quotes in the following order: all Quote Check requests
for Stocks, Bonds and Funds; Quote Track requests if QRQ30 is specified;
Market Close pages if the X symbols are specified.

* X symbols are only available on the registered versions of PDL.


RUNNING PDL
-----------------

PDL has a default quote list file named "PDL.IN".  If you choose to name
it something else, you will need to tell PDL by running the PDLCONF
program.  This will change the input file name in the PDL.CNF file and
also in the PDLRUN.BAT file.  In addition, it stores the Prodigy quotes
in a file called "PDL.OUT" unless you give the output file another name.

PDL is started by entering the command PDLRUN at the DOS prompt.

PDL is ALWAYS run from a batch file.  A typical batch file, such as
PDLRUN.BAT which is built by the PDLCONF program follows:

echo off
echo *********************************************************************
echo *                 PDLRUN.BAT                  *
echo *********************************************************************
set TRY=0
set PDLRUN=ON
cd C:\BC\PDL31
pdl PDL.IN PDL.OUT
:newtag
pdlmis PDL.IN PDL.OUT PDL.NEW
if ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO :more
GOTO :endit
:more
GOTO :T%TRY%
:T0
goto :nogood
:T1
set TRY=0
goto :tag
:T2
set TRY=1
goto :tag
:T3
set TRY=2
goto :tag
:T4
set TRY=3
goto :tag
:T5
set TRY=4
goto :tag
:T6
set TRY=5
goto :tag
:T7
set TRY=6
goto :tag
:T8
set TRY=7
goto :tag
:T9
set TRY=8
:tag
pdl -a PDL.NEW PDL.OUT
GOTO :newtag
:nogood
echo Retry count exhausted - PDL terminating
:endit
copy HISTORY.FIL+PDL.OUT HISTORY.FIL
set PDLRUN=OFF

Most of this batch file is concerned with checking for missing quotes
and restarting PDL if a failure occurrs.  There should be no need to
edit this file other than by using the PDLCONF program.



                 PDL FILES
                 ---------


PDL INPUT AND OUTPUT FILES
--------------------------

Suppose your quote list is in a file called DJ30.STK and you want to put
the Prodigy quotes in a file called DJ30.LST.  Then you would start
PDLCONF, go to the Change Startup Parameters screen to make the changes
and then select the Update Parameter Files option to build the new
PDLRUN.BAT and PDL.CNF files.

The default quote list file name is PDL.IN and the default output
filename is PDL.OUT.  If you have no need to change these names, it
might make things simpler to just use the defaults.


THE PDL.CNF FILE
-------------------

If you use PDLCONF to build the startup configuration and batch files
you can ignore this section since this is taken care of automatically.

The PDL.CNF file contains many of the parameters that PDL needs to start
and run correctly.  The following is the format of the file:

USERID = ABCD99            your Prodigy UserID
PASSWD = BANANA            your Prodigy Password
REG_CODE = UNREGISTERED        your PDL registration code
COMM_PORT = 3F8            your modem port address
LOGON = PDL               the type of logon requested
NICKNAME = JOHN            your Prodigy Autologon Nickname
P_DELAY = 400               delay after printing to a file
D_DELAY = 400               context switching delay
RETRIES = 0               number of attempts to restart Prodigy
PRODIGY_PATH = C:\PRODIGY      the Prodigy drive and directory
PDL_PATH = C:\PDL30           the PDL drive and directory
INFILE = PDL.IN            the input file name
OUTFILE = PDL.OUT           the output file name
NEWFILE = PDL.NEW           file to hold missing quote list
HISTORY_FILE = HISTORY.FIL     file to hold archived pdl.out files

The format should be followed as shown above using all upper case
letters and spacing on either side of the "=".  The file is built
automatically by the PDLCONF program.


KEYBOARD COMMANDS
------------------------

PDL has four keyboard commands which are available for limited control
and alteration of PDL functions.

   ALT-S   - Suspend keystroke input
   ALT-R   - Resume 'suspended' keystroke input
   ALT-B   - Begin keystroke input from the top (for MANUAL logon)
   ALT-X   - Exit. Causes PDL to release all interrupt vectors
*  CTL-BREAK Causes PDL to release all interrupt vectors and allow keyboard
         data entry

Under normal conditions it will not be necessary to use these commands
and they can be a little trickey to use.  As you become more familiar
with the PDL and Prodigy sequences you may want to try them out.


PDL INSTALL PROCEDURE
-------------------------

PDL comes in a ZIP file named based on the version of the program.
Suppose you have PDL31.ZIP (which is version 3.1) of the software.  This
installation assumes you are placing PDL in your \PDL31 directory on
drive 'C':

   1) Create the PDL directory using the DOS MD command and make that
      the current directory.
                 c:
                 md c:\pdl31
                 cd c:\pdl31

   2) Use PKUNZIP to extract the contents of PDL31.ZIP into your \PDL31
      directory.

      You should have the following files:

     PDL.EXE      -  Main program which passes keystrokes to Prodigy and
             places output in a file.
     PDLKEY.COM   -  Program to translate your quote list to keystrokes.
     PDLMIS.COM   -  Program to check for missing quotes.
     PDLSCHED.COM -  The Vacation Scheduler program
     PDLSCHED.CTL -  Control file for Vacation Scheduler
     PDLCONF.EXE  -  The PDL configuration program.
     PDLCONF.HLP  -  The help file for PDLCONF.
     PDL.IN      -  A sample input file.
     PDL.DOC      -  This document
     REGISTER.DOC -  Registration form for PDL
     PDLRUN.BXT   -  A template file used by PDLCONF to create
             PDLRUN.BAT
     READ.ME      -  Quick start & last minute changes

   3) Create a file called PDL.IN containing your Stock, Fund,
      Bond and indeX symbols.

   4) Start the configuration program by entering PDLCONF at the DOS
      prompt.  Follow the instructions in PDLCONF.  Don't forget to save
      the files by selecting Update Parameter Files before ending
      PDLCONF.

   5) Type PDLRUN to start PDL and Prodigy.



VACATION MODE
-------------

Vacation Mode of operation provides a method of automating the startup
of PDL on specific days or dates at a specific time.  There are two ways
that this may be accomplished.    The first assumes that the computer will
remain turned on for the duration of the unattended period.  The second
assumes that power on/off control will be used to start the computer and
that the autoexec.bat file will start PDLSCHED, the scheduler.     The
scheduler is started by executing the PDLSCHED command from the PDL
directory.

Method 1 - Power On
The PDLSCHED.CTL file should contain the following:
    INCLUDE:ALL
    EXCLUDE:SAT
    EXCLUDE:SUN
    START:18:00
    WAIT:
This tells the scheduler to run PDL on every day except saturday and
sunday, to start the run at 6PM and to re-enable the schedule for the
next day and wait for the correct start time.

Method 2 - Power control
This method assumes that you have a way to automatically turn on the
power at the time you wish the scheduler to start.  You will also
need to add statements to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to change the
directory to the PDL directory and execute the PDLSCHED command. The
PDLSCHED.CTL file should contain the following:
    INCLUDE:ALL
    EXCLUDE:SAT
    EXCLUDE:SUN
    EXCLUDE:12/25/91
    START:18:00
This tells the scheduler to run PDL on every day except saturday and
sunday, to start the run at 6PM and to return to DOS after the run
completes.  It also contains an example of how to exclude a specific
date, in this case December 25, 1991.

The PDLSCHED program provides the option of changing the name of the
PDLSCHED.CTL file on the command line.    For example:
    PDLSCHED NEW.CTL
causes the scheduler to use a control file named NEW.CTL.


The PDLSCHED.CTL file
---------------------

The format of the scheduler control file is as follows:
    CONTROL:VALUE
where control is the keyword INCLUDE, EXCLUDE, START or WAIT separated
by a colon from the value.  Values for INCLUDE and EXCLUDE are ALL, SAT,
SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI or a date in the format mm/dd/yy.    Values
for START include any valid time in the format HH:MM:SS expressed in 24
hour format (e.g. 18:00:00 is 6PM).  The WAIT keyword has no values
associated with it but requires the colon separator to delineate the
keyword.


TELEPHONE LINE PROBLEMS
------------------------

If you used PDLCONF to build the parameter files, most of the restart
will be taken care of automatically.  If you selected the MANUAL logon
option or built your own startup batch file the following information
may be helpful.

Occasionally problems will arise that require PDL to do something other
than what it had planned to do next.  When these problems occur, it
will suspend the current operation using the ALT-S function discussed
earlier and exit the program.  This will prevent the unused keystrokes
from spewing out after Prodigy has already gone away.

A common problem is a "no answer timeout" which causes Prodigy to
switch to the "Try Again" screen.  When this happens, PDL may not yet
have control, depending on the type of logon process that you are
using.  In Prodigy Autologon or PDL autologon modes, the quotes will
be suspended and Prodigy will be terminated.  This allows a 'clean'
restart from the batch file.  In manual mode, the quote list will be
suspended and the 'Try Again' screen will be entered to allow you to
manually reconnect.    After this, you can enter an ALT-B or ALT-R to
resume.  This method may result in lost or duplicated quotes.

If the line drops during a session, PDL cannot tell exactly how far you
have gotten in the quotes file nor can it tell how much data has been
lost.  It simply suspends the quote requests and terminates.

All of the above recovery actions are based on PDL being able to
determine when the modem is online and when it is offline.  To do this,
PDL interrogates the CARRIER DETECT signal to make sure that Prodigy is
still connected to the service.  Your modem must be configured with "CD
follows Carrier" (HayesII - ATS21=032).  PDL will check this at startup
and warn you if "CD is always on".


DELAY CONTROL
-------------

Some machines experience problems of dropping characters from the
keystroke file after switching screens within Prodigy.    This causes the
keystroke sequences to get out of sync and occasionally jump to a screen
that you don't want.  There are two delay values that can be controlled
from the through the PDLCONF program:
        P_DELAY   controls the delay after printing; if not
              specified the default is 400.
              If this is inadequate, try increasing the number
              in increments of 100.
        D_DELAY   controls the delay after switching prodigy
              screens. This is a self adjusting time value based
              on machine speeds.  The default is 400.  If this
              is inadequate, the number should be increased in
              increments of 100 until quote requests run
              normally.


DISCLAIMER
---------------

The author has made every effort to ensure that PDL will operate in
most common environments.  However, the techniques that are used are
heavily dependent on ISRs (Interrupt Service Routines) and may not
operate correctly when used with TSR programs that intercept keyboard
or printer interrupts.  If you experience problems such as "keyboard
lockup" or runaway quote files (quote requests appearing on the DOS
command line), try removing the other TSRs and rerunning.

The author assumes NO responsibility for any damages, direct or
consequential, which may result from the use of PDL (Prodigy DownLoad).
The user must accept and agree to this disclaimer of warranty prior to
using PDL.





IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Prodigy is a registered service mark and trademark of Prodigy Services
Company